Unread Letters
by GaleLover8
Summary: Written in letters and Regular POV: Max finds Fang's laptop after he leaves...and types letters to him expressing her agony. Please read and review! All rights to JP.
1. Three Weeks and Two Days

**Warning: FANG SPOILERS! So don't read if you haven't read Fang. Just warnin' ya.**

Dear Fang,

I. HATE. YOU. You left...and then I didn't eat or sleep for three weeks straight. I am now because the Flock is forcing me to. And now that my period of major heartbreak is subsiding (believe it or not, it'll stay for GOOD in the back of my mind), you have a right to know that I'm PISSED at a whole new level. Oh, yes.

You tore my heart into tiny little pieces and I'm never, EVER going to forgive you for that. EVER. You'll probably sneak in here again to collect your precious little laptop, which is obviously more important than me, so I'm saving these letters in your folders. Fang...you're the only one in my thoughts, my nightmares, and my dialog when I speak. When I open my eyes in the morning I see you. I see you before I close my eyes at night and travel to another world in which you get your guts ripped out by erasers, you die in my arms with a bullet hole in your chest, or you make out with red-haired wonder. I see your gorgeous smile and your perfect hair and I feel your strong arms wrapped around me until I realize that the whole thing is just in my mind.

And don't "sweetie" me. Your sweet-talk isn't going to help mend my broken heart now, is it? And how dare you leave me here with this annoying "perfect other half" who seems to constantly glower at my loss? Now he comes in to "check on me" and tries to kiss me. Ya...NO. As inviting as it sounds to get close to a guy who looks like he's out of a magazine for hot beach models, I prefer the simple and charming humility of you. Well, I _preferred_. Now that you're gone, who knows what could happen? I might as well go and make out with beach boy.

Fang, you admitted your love for me in your letter...quite well, I have to say, for a feelingless piece of charcoal. Well I love you too, and I love you with a passion I've never felt before, and it's impossible to stop loving you, however hard I try.

Now GO DIE IN A HOLE.

Max

**So how was that? Bad? Good? Read and revieww! :D -Gale (Imma girl, Gale's just my nickname. lol.)**


	2. Three Weeks and Four Days

**Hee(: I guess my last chappy wasn't bad, so I'll keep going with this story! Thanks to reviewers!**

Dear Fang,

Don't get me wrong. I still hate you. Surprised that I'm writing you another letter? Well don't be...this is going to be a regular for me. Today I finally made my way out of my room, step by step. But then curse your amazing smell, I got attracted to your room like a bee does to honey. And then you made me just sit there for hours and sob until Iggy came in and forcefully dragged me out of your room.

After dragging me out of your room, he gave me a lecture on how the flock was depressed too, and they knew that I was the one taking it the hardest, at least I think it was something like that. I was too busy thinking about your stupid face and your perfect hair to listen to Iggy. I guess I didn't look too terrible after his little speech, so he made me come to the kitchen with him.

"High time you learn how to cook," he told me. Yes, I remember his exact words. They're not so hard to forget, just like your face. So he pulled me over to the kitchen and started teaching me how to flip pancakes. As if I care now that you've left. I'll never even be able to share them with you.

I made twenty-five pancakes today...I went absolutely crazy. Every single time I made a pancake, I imagined it was your face and I screamed at it and called it ehm...terrible names until Iggy had to push me back into my room and calm me down. The rest of the flock always came by and kept me company and now it's two in the morning and I can't sleep. So I'm writing to you, unread letters.

I miss your dark, dark eyes that reflect anything, and I miss your arms around me and your lips against mine. I miss everything about you, yet you didn't care and you just DITCHED ME AND LEFT. Do you know what a position that left me in? Yes and now you should know. This is my normal attitude now. I'm more calm towards the night, which is now, and that's when I write. My head is constantly filled with images of you and I seriously feel suicidal. My first day out of my room wasn't a great one.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.

WHO AM I KIDDING? WITHOUT YOU, LIFE IS HELL.

Max

**Reviews? Hehehehehe. Gale**


	3. Three Weeks and Five Days

**Thanks so much for alerting, reviewing, and faving! Loooooves you.**

Dear Fang,

I'm a bit better now, not from heartbreak, mind you, but from my awkward insanity. I never imagined that it would lead up to this...me going absolutely crazy. When my mom told me that I loved you too much, I agreed, and I never even got to say those three words to you.

I love you.

There I said it and now YOU'RE NOT EVEN HERE TO HEAR THEM FROM ME. I canNOT believe you left me, I still can't. It's just a shock, and writing these letters have calmed me down significantly. Let's change that to somewhat.

And I have something to admit, so even though you probably won't ever read this, I need to get it out of my system...only I know this. And one other person - that one other person is Dylan. There, I just blurted it out. Well, typed it. Dylan. D - Y - L - A - N. To go on with the terrible thing that had happened that only he knows other than me...HE. KISSED. ME. TODAY. And worse...I kissed him back because I was just too depressed about you. What he _doesn't _know is that I just imagined he was you, which he would have been pissed off at if he knew.

Not that he kisses any better than you, because he doesn't. And he is NOT my perfect other half! I mean, WTF! Anyways, so the whole story...he just came up to me with his stupid perfect body and was all like, "Hey Maxi, I just wanted to talk to you." YES HE CALLED ME MAXI. As if I'm just some sort of a PAD. PSHH. Anyhow, he kept going..."Yes, I know you're depressed, but I just wanted you to know that I'm always here for you, no matter who stays and who leaves." As if. I bet if I told him to scram, he'd leave and never come back because of his extreme emotions.

And he leaned forward, and I had to look at his Caribbean-colored eyes (not that they're any better than your obsidian ones, by the way) (but who cares? You're GONE FOR GOOD.) and I when he kissed me I kissed him back. Just like that.

And you have a total right to get mad, Fang, but right now as you can tell, I could kick and punch and scratch at your for an hour but you're never going to show up. I even doubt that you would be at the CLIFF in 20 years. Maybe I'll forget about you...who knows.

Nope, that's not possible. Just forget I said that. For life you're going to be that one douchebag who broke my heart, the one that I loved so strongly that you pretty much made me PARALYZED every time you were hurt, or in danger, or sad or upset, or maybe when you LEFT ME.

I'm NEVER going to get over that, and I'm NEVER going to forgive you. By the way, I read your files because I'm just extremely nosy, unfortunately. I read all that stuff about how my kissing (excuse ME?) and other embarrassing stuff. By the way, that ring that you gave me? That's going DOWN.

Or not. I don't know.

Well, till later Fang, or maybe never. It depends on whether you love me enough or not, to come back to me.

Max

P.S. I still want you to go die in a hole.

**Max is maaaaaaaaaad. -Gale**


	4. Four Weeks and One Day

**Omg. Thank you guys so much for the reviews in the last chappy. It really made me feel happy(:!**

Dear Fang,

I still hate you. Not a very pleasant way to start a letter, huh? I think, though, that you totally deserve a terrible beginning like that, because you hurt me so much. So you thought you _staying _would be a distraction from what I have to do? So what do you think you _leaving _did for me? Do you think that now that you are gone, I can _concentrate more_? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? All you did was fall for the filthy lies of that creeper Dylan.

Oh and about Dylan...I finally came to my senses yesterday and realized that he's just using your "gone time" to worm himself into my personal bubble. You and my mom are the only ones I've ever let enter my person bubble (other than that other creeper Angel), and now I'm seriously having doubts about you. Dylan's constantly trying to nose his way into my personal business.

So today, when he asked me if I needed help going to the bathroom, I seriously held it, stomped over to him, and yelled at him. More like _screamed_. He got that really scared "OMG" look on his face, and I told him to take his precious wings and _scram_, and he just said "fine" in a snotty way and left.

Well actually he sort of went stumbling and his first attempt at flying failed quite miserably. Then he went hurtling through the air like an ungraceful elephant. A hot, ungraceful elephant. Wait...forget I ever said that.

I don't miss him a bit. Right now it's 9 PM, and I told him to leave four hours ago. He left, he never came back, and, frankly, I don't give a _damn _where he went. Yes, Fang, if you're reading this, I know it sounds mean...even for me...but one can only get on your nerves a certain number of times before you lose it.

Oh, and by the way, you also left your precious iPod behind. So I decided to go through your songs, and guess which song said it was played the most on your iPod? _My Life Would Suck Without You_, sung by Kelly Clarkson. So...you decided to listen to it before you left me here, huh? Well it absolutely positively makes sense why you would...so I'm going to listen to it again, right now.

_Guess this means you're sorry,_**  
**_You're standing at my door,_**  
**_Guess this means you take back__  
All you said before,_

_Like how much you wanted,_  
_Anyone but me,  
_and Red-Haired Wonder  
_Said you'd never come back,_  
_But here you are again,_

_'Cause we belong together now, yeah,_  
_Forever united here somehow, yeah,_  
_You got a piece of me,_  
_And honestly,_  
_My life (my life) would suck (would suck) without you,_

_Baby I was stupid for telling you goodbye,_  
_Maybe I was wrong for tryin' to pick a fight,_  
_I know that I've got issues,_  
_But you're pretty messed up too,_  
_Either way, I found out I'm nothing without you._

_'Cause we belong together now, yeah,_  
_Forever united here somehow, yeah,_  
_You got a piece of me,_

_And honestly,_  
_My life (my life) would suck (would suck) without you._

_Being with you,_  
_Is so dysfunctional,_  
_I really shouldn't miss you,_  
_But I can't let you go,_  
_Oh yeah._

_'Cause we belong together now, yeah,_  
_Forever united here somehow, yeah,_  
_You got a piece of me,_  
_And honestly,_  
_My life (my life) would suck (would suck) without you._

_'Cause we belong together now, yeah,_  
_Forever united here somehow, yeah,_  
_You got a piece of me,_  
_And honestly,_  
_My life (my life) would suck (would suck) without you._

How is it that that song relates to me, EXACTLY? Except for the fact that...indeed you never came back, and you probably will never, either. You are pretty messed up, and I never did anything that would have pushed you away.

I also do the craziest thing for you...I just _sang _that song out loud, and Iggy came in to make sure I was okay...because he thought I was _crying_. Seriously, I didn't know that my voice was as bad as you've always told me it was.

Anyway, today was...interesting. I finally went out of my room again, for the second time since you left (duh! How else would I get your iPod?) and again the amazing Fang smell from your room acted as a magnet and dragged me towards that cursed place. And again, I sat on your bed and lay down with my head on your pillow and sobbed until Nudge came in and talked to me for a while. After she left, I found your iPod and stole it, and I've been listening to all your songs. Not a bad collection, I have to say.

But I like mine better.

Max

P.S. Now I understand why you'd never let anyone listen to your iPod. Huge mistake leaving it here. Is it because you're just embarrassed about the Miley Cyrus songs you put on there? Well there's nothing to be embarrassed about. You're, like, OVER SELF-CONSCIOUS.

AND YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO COME BACK SO I CAN SEE YOUR BEAUTIFUL AND STUPID SELF-CONSCIOUS FACE. THUS I STILL WANT YOU TO DIE IN A HOLE.

**I'm not a songfic writer, don't worry ;P ~Gale**


	5. Four Weeks and Three Days

**You guys are amaaaazing, thanks so much for the reviews(: and the favoriting and alerting of me and my story! You guys are awesomesauce. So sorry about the lateness, but here's another chappy!**

Dear Fang,

Today I made macaroni and cheese. Iggy taught me how to not burn the macaroni. Or the salad that I made. That's right, Fang, I burn salads...I don't think I've ever told you this before. Plus, there's something you should know...

Dylan came back today. And he sang for me. And his voice is beautiful, and I'm falling for him, and not you. Are you jealous yet? Are you? ARE YOU? Well, you'd better be. If you're reading this right now, I think his amazing singing skills are going to attract me to him like a magnet, just like your smell.

No, that wasn't very convincing, was it? I'm NEVER going to convince you to come back. So instead, I'm just going to tell you about my day. Well first, I made the macaroni and cheese, but I didn't tell you how it turned out! Let's just say that nobody threw up. I'm improving...but I don't care because you're gone. YOU ARE GONE FOR LIFE. There. I said it.

And then Dylan actually _did _sing for me today, as odd as it sounds. And he has a pretty wonderful voice, I'm not going to deny it...but have you ever sung for me? No...he sang me a lullaby and he held my hand until I fell asleep. You used to be the one holding my hand, but now I'm letting Dylan walk into your place. I hope you're not going to beat me up. I take that back...I'M going to beat you up, loser.

Something that will make you even madder...I'm LIKING the attention I'm getting from Dylan and the flock. Every day Angel comes in, the creeper she is, and talks to me about why I shouldn't be thinking about you anymore. Creeper. I repeat. CREEPER.

After that, Motormouth Nudge comes in and talks nonstop for an hour about God knows what...but I still like listening to her anyways. It gives me a chance to block out all thoughts about you. Very nice therapy, it is.

Then Iggy drags me out of my room and teaches me to cook, and then I get pulled over to your room and cry there for a while. By the way, did I tell you that I found a strand of your hair on your pillow? I took the hair and put it on my bedside table in a box. It'll probably be the last of you I'll ever get to touch.

Anyways, after that, Gazzy comes to me and you know that history of explosives book thing you gave him for his birthday? Yeah, he pretty much reads three chapters a day of that to me, so now I feel well-educated on explosives.

I think I got the whole day...yep, that's pretty much it. OOH! And Dylan. I don't know if he's really part of the flock anymore, but maybe since he will never LEAVE ME *cough cough cough cough COUGH* he's my perfect other half. Even though I hate him...maybe he is.

*Sigh*...Fang, I didn't tell you the worst part of my day. Today was a terrible day. I lied about the macaroni...I didn't cook it right. Thankfully I didn't make too much so it wasn't wasted. Smart Iggy for not pouring too much. And then...Dylan didn't hold my hand, I'd never let him do that.

But that's not why it was so terrible.

In the morning, after Dylan came back, Mr. Perfect mashed his mouth against mine and Nudge caught us. Then she burst into tears and later told me that she thought me and you were a better couple. I AGREE.

But who cares...Dylan kissing me doesn't even surprise me. What I'm going to say today, right now is much, much worse.

Today...one of our flock's expiration dates appeared. (And I'm not talking about Dylan because then I wouldn't be sad.) I'm not going to tell you either until you come back and I don't know when you're going to do that. I don't even know if you'll ever see them again.

Max

**Ooooh CLIFFY! I hope it is, at least...I hope you liked it! -Gale**


	6. Four Weeks and Four Days

**Okay guys sorry for the total lateness! But...here's the next chappy you've all been waiting for. I hope. XD  
**

Dear Fang,

I honestly don't know whether to be depressed or a bit..relieved? I feel mean saying this, but I know you would too, especially after what she said about you that day a few weeks ago when YOU WERE HERE.

It's Angel, it's Angel, it's Angel who's expiration date showed up last week. I hope yours hasn't shown up yet...wait...it doesn't MATTER because I'll never see you again! I keep having to remind myself of these absolutely, positively STUPID things.

Back to Angel...should I feel depressed? I know that if this was last year or before, I would have broken down and probably fainted by now. But ever since she's changed, I don't know...I feel like I should be mourning her cursed expiration date but I just don't feel that tightness and love between us (me and Angel, get that...and pretty soon me and YOU.) and it just makes me feel guilty. If you were here you'd help me figure it all out but you're NOT.

Anyways, since she's such a creeper, I couldn't help but feel...awkward? after her date showed up, I mean. Nudge burst into tears immediately, Iggy just looked at the floor (not literally) and Gazzy...well...poor old Gazzy. He's been in his room ever since her date showed up, and is almost in as bad of a condition as me right now. I went into his room a couple of times to talk to him these past days but you've been in my thoughts at the perfect time so I spend most of the day crying in your room now.

Is is because of _you _that our flock's falling apart?

Noo, I wouldn't say that about my true love. I mean even though I wanted, sorry, WANT to tear your stupid face apart, what you said in your letter really touched me. Like a lot. And I finally made a Facebook and friended everyone...and every time I read those gushy "Like" pages between boyfriend and girlfriend, I wanted to scream.

Because you used to be the perfect guy everyone seems to dream of.

Friend requests are piling in and oh, you'll never guess who I got one from. Brigid [insert swear word here]-ing Dwyer. Yes, her. What a creeper, too...she was looking through EVERYTHING on my profile and liked and commented on almost everything on there. I repeat: CREEPER. Why is she trying to be friends with me? Oh right, she probably thinks I know where you are right now, so she can worm her way up to me, ask me where you are, go there herself, manage to make you forget about me, kiss you, make you her boyfriend, marry you, and then one day you'll remember me and come back to me and be all like Oh hey Max I remember you...you were some kid I left stranded at her house but I don't care about you anymore because I have Miss Brigid Dwyer here with me and she's the best in the world and I love her way more than I've ever loved you and will ever love you oh that's right I don't love you anymore so bye I'm going to live with Brigid HAPPILY EVER AFTER. THE END.

Like my nightmare? I bet it'll come true, too.

Max

**Sorry that was a bit short...I've been swamped with homework this week but tomorrow I'll update and make a much longer chappy! R&R!**

**P.S. You guys were worried about Iggy...I wouldn't have the heart to make his expiration date appear like that...and I'm not going to do the sight thing either, since I guess so many people have already...:D Just saying. Heh.**


	7. Five Weeks

**Hai guys! Here's the next chapter, as promised! :D**

Dear Fang,

Of course, the worst thing possible happened to me today – the five-week-anniversary of your thoughtful ditching of your flock – and since you're never going to read these letters I'm writing to you, I'm just going to go ahead and spill out everything that I've been holding in.

Last night…(now get your mind out of the gutter)…I was typing a letter to you and saving it on your email or wherever the heck this gets saved. And then…my supposed-to-be "perfect other half" just came on in uninvited to my room and sat on my bed. (By the way, I deleted the file I'd started typing yesterday.) So then he asks me:

"Max, why are you typing these letters to Fang? You know he's never going to read them, right? You're just wasting your time. He's never going to come back but I'm just assuring you that even though he left you, I will always be here for you, and I will love you unconditionally. You know that, right?"

Do you know what I did, Fang? Right then, right there, I knew I had the strength so I punched him as hard as I could. In the face. And of course, him being the wimp he is, he started whimpering and apologizing and I gave him my worst death glare and told him to scram for the second time in two weeks. And now he's gone, and he really hasn't come back yet. Thank God.

But that's not all. After he left, I just sat there on my bed feeling empty and stupid and thinking – was he right? I mean, about him always being there for me? If you haven't noticed, you're _gone _and who knows if you'll ever come back. The problem with you is that you know what is always going on in my mind so it's hard to trick you, but that's the beautiful thing about you.

Yet you were retarded enough to think that you leaving would really help me save the world and stuff. I mean, who in their right mind…ugh. Never mind.

More things happened today that I didn't mention. A couple of instances last week when Dylan tried to mash his mouth against mine, but this time I withheld and thought about you, so I slapped his arm back. Stupid bird crap he is, that boy.

I'm sorry…I don't mean to be rude like that…but lately I've been having just great hormones. Ups and downs and God knows what else…I really hate life right now and it's because of you (mostly) and part of it is also Angel's cursed expiration date, of course. What else? Oh right, NUDGE IS GONE AND NOWHERE TO BE SEEN.

That's right, our very own Nudge disappeared last night, and we all went around searching for her. It was the very first time I went out of the house after you left, but in the most unpleasant way possible…to search for a missing flock member. I know now that after you left, the flock is _dying_. One-sixth literally. Now all Iggy does is look for Nudge, and all Gazzy does is cry over Nudge and Angel (and I'm guessing you too…), and now I cry over you and Nudge. Not Angel so much, but if you're reading this you have to swear NEVER to tell the flock.

Oh right, I don't even have to ask you to swear that. You're gone forever.

But I can't say that I'm not going to miss Angel tons. She's actually being a really nice kid right now, maybe because she's on her deathbed, pretty much? I don't know but blinded by tears and physically challenged by broken hearts, we're really trying to make Angel's last month with her flock one of the most memorable times of her life. She's in bed, because she's weakening, Fang, every single day. We bring her food and play games and try to be the flock (minus you) that we used to…and then Nudge disappeared last night, and now everything's just out of control.

Fang, if _Angel_, our youngest one, has an expiration date, does that mean Iggy and Gazzy and Nudge are in trouble? I am the oldest so I'm the worst off right now…

I really don't know what would happen if you came back. Would you even be able to put our flock back together? Because you were the glue that held it together. But if you don't come back, the glue by itself will dry up and there's nothing you'd be able to do about the flock anymore. You'd be too late.

I'm sure you don't want to be the destruction of our flock. And the destruction of me because you can see I'm not taking your leave lightly.

Max

**Okay! I'll update again tomorrow, or the day after! Hope you liked it! ~Gale**


	8. Five Weeks and Two Days

**Hey all! Okay sorry for the long break...as I was saying, I was grounded from the computer for a weeek D: oh well...now I'm BACK! :D**

DEAR FANG,

I AM SICK OF YOU, SICK OF DYLAN, SICK OF *LIFE*.

Today, Dylan came back, and let's just say that I was NOT prepared to hear what he had to say.

He told me you were gone.

He told me that he found you underneath a fir tree a few miles away, and he saw you as he was flying over to the ocean.

Fang, I really don't want to trust him, at _all_, but was he right?

Are you really gone from the world?

I told Dylan, of course then immediately, that I was going to fly on over and see you one last time, but he told me he'd moved the body. Is that a lie to cover up his other lie, or was it true and he was just being sincere?

I don't trust Dylan, though, completely. But he was always here or at least trying to mash his stupid face in my business but I couldn't even imagine him lying about something like this. It's something that even...even VOLDEMORT wouldn't lie about.

And of course, after hearing that you were dead, I spent the whole day crying in your room. I don't know…it's one thing knowing you're alive and getting a long letter from you that proves that you're really gone…and it's another thing getting news from someone I hate about you being gone.

Oh God…Dylan didn't KILL you, did he?

If he did, I swear…I'm going to kill him for what he's done to you. Look at me, acting as if you're really dead and Dylan killed you. You'd better not be dead. I'm not strong enough to accept that you're gone yet, so I'm just going to believe that you're happy, alive, and still hating that red-haired [insert swear word here].

Oh, my God, Fang, you were my _world_. And now you've left me. I cannot believe that you've left, let alone the stupid words that Dylan just sprouted from his mouth. Or at least, that piehole in that lump on his neck that he calls a mouth.

Plus, Nudge is still missing, so when I stopped crying about you, I'd start crying about Nudge, my darling Nudge, who'd always make me feel better about you, and tell me lies such as how you _had _to go. Pfft. I bet you _wanted _to. And Nudge was always there for me whenever I'd have nightmares about you, which is almost every night still continuing, and she'd be there and sleep in my room and I would almost spend the night peacefully and not scream again. Maybe a couple of times I did but Nudge was such a good friend.

Great. Now I'm thinking in terms of her being dead, too. I'm such an…_ugh_.

Fang, Fang, Fang, you have to come back, you really have to. Sometimes I feel like it's such a waste of time writing a bunch of letters you're really never going to read, but this is almost like writing in a journal. I mean, I confide…*cough*… ConfideD in you all the time when you were here. Now? Not so much.

Max

**So how was that? I'll update tomorrow or the next day againn! Reviews pleeeeaaaaase! ~Gale**


	9. Five Weeks and Five Days

**Hi guys! Haha sorry I didn't update yesterday or the day beforee...fanfic was down yesterday...idk why but I'm glad it's up today! Haha anyways, here's the next chappy, as promised!(: ****Oh and btw many of you are wondering if there's going to be a chappy where Fang writes a letter to Max, and my answer is...mayyyybeeeee...patience is a virtue(;**

Dear Fang,

Oh. My. God. You cannot imagine…today has just been a bright spot in all those terrible gray days for me. I've spent most of the day crying, but not crying in grief; rather crying in half-relief.

Nudge was found, at last! I mean, you can't imagine how freaked out I was this whole week about Nudge, and to add on to that, the news about _you_…

She was hiding behind a fountain in a park nearby. Iggy flew all the way there and found her…(don't believe for a second that the rest of the flock didn't tease him about Nudge for an hour about that) not by looking, of course. I mean, he said that Nudge was so surprised at seeing him, she yelled his name out loud and he heard her. I wonder what happened next. Angel had told me that Nudge has a crush on Iggy, but I thought Ella did. Wow, I don't want to be a part of how _that's_ going to turn out.

Oh, look at me babbling…one can just tell I'm in a bit of a lighter mood today. I think, Fang, it's time to come out of hiding because Nudge told us that she saw you in a crowded restaurant somewhere. She said that you guys made eye contact, and she went inside through the entrance on the other side to look for you. When she went inside, she couldn't find you. Why did you leave? And she was sure that it was you; she saw you in the next city over. Nudge was a foolish little thing, going out there to look for you all by herself but she said she was absolutely _positive _that she saw you. Of course, she did get yelled at. For a _long _time. But it's all okay because she saw you, and I know you're alive. I ran to your room and buried myself in your pillows and covers and cried in relief pretty much the whole day. That's how much you mean to me, Fang.

Of course, I was happy that I didn't take Dylan's words too seriously. *Cough* and so what I did was scream at him until he realized that I'd found out, and his face turned red, and he left. Hopefully for good now, that little jerk. I'm never going to speak his name again.

Anyways, life has been going on pretty normally except for the fact that you're _still _gone, even though you were seen by Nudge. Why did you leave the restaurant when Nudge entered it? Were you trying to keep hiding from us? I think you did try because you're being really evil right now.

She also said she saw a bunch of other avian-slash-humans with you. Now it's time for me to ask you… WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING? Are you, like, trying to get a new flock and live out there with them so you could FORGET US, and saving the world? Are you being a rogue like Iggy (as I said myself…) and trying to take the easy way out of things? Are you…? Are…

I don't know, Fang, I'm just out of questions. Once you left me, there was a flurry of emotions that came and attacked my head. You probably don't even want to know what they were, because I'm warning you…they're NOT pleasant. Like, in the least bit. Just saying.

Fang, I think I'm just going to give up writing letters to you now. I just realized that it won't help me feel better because I'll still have that same dreadful feeling in my stomach that you're gone for the rest of my life. And who knows how long that is.

Maybe you…you were just a lame distraction from me being with Dylan. Trust me, Fang, I don't want to…I _really _don't want to believe that, because Dylan is such an extreme, world-class butthead. I shudder at the thought of him being my perfect other half, as my voice says. I used to think that you'd come back, someday, because when you love someone you come back for them no matter what it takes, but Fang, you haven't done that for me yet. And…I'm sorry that I've given up hope, but I don't think you ever will. Maybe I'll find someone else.

Maybe it's really time to give up, because of that saying about love…if you loved me, you would come back. But you haven't.

And it's Angel's last few weeks, too, and I really want the days to be special for her, even though our flock is falling apart. I want to keep the rest of our flock together for at least a few more _days _just so that when Angel goes, she'll go even a little peacefully; _most _of her flock is together. I don't think I'd be able to go happy and contentedly, though. At least Angel will, hopefully.

I loved you so much, Fang, and I still do, and I think it's now time to take my once happy flock and move to a shack on the beach until Angel…goes. I really think that's the best for us all because now none of us really have much time left, I think. Please, Fang, please come back so at least you could spend the last few of our happy days with us.

'Cause without you, my life isn't worth living.

Max

**So how was that? I have this feeling that I'm missing something...should I add more, what are your thoughts, etc. etc. etc. ~Gale**


	10. Six Weeks and One Day

**Heyy guys! Here's the next one. The one after this will be the last chapter, and on the last chapter I'm going to have to credit some people for giving me great ideas so thanks to those of you that helped out! I'll actually credit you guys next chapterr(:**

Dear Fang,

This is truly the last letter I'm going to write to you. I pretty much poured out my heart in the end of my last letter, and I don't think I'm going to do that again. I'm just going to end this mini-Fang journal with memories.

I remember when we first kissed, on the beach when Ari'd beat you up even though I think you'd beat him up worse. When I saw you there, just _dying_, I felt the need to let you know how much I love you, even though I'd lost you. It was a very quick little peck on the lips, but it was enough to let you know that I did think of you as more than my best friend.

I don't know when our brother-sister affection changed to a different kind of love, but I remember how jealous I got when I saw you with Lissa. I remember how I'd clenched my fists and restrained myself from beating her up when I saw you kissing her back. And then I burned holes in the back of your neck by giving you death glares all the rest of that day. I remember that.

I remember how when I went on my first date, with Sam, how pained and plain unhappy you'd seemed when I announced it at the dinner table. I remember that clear as day, Fang, and I'll never forget it.

I remember how we kissed that one night on the beach on the sand and how I lay there in your arms and we looked at the stars for hours, and then my mom went missing. Something bad always happened after we made out.

I remember our first date, holding hands and eating ice cream and how pleased I was when you told Brigid Dwyer that you were busy.

I remember how safe I always felt in your arms and how soft your lips always were on mine, and how hesitant I'd been to be with you in the beginning but how I couldn't live without you until the end.

This is the end.

We're leaving tomorrow, Fang, for our little beach house, and we've put this house up for rent to someone. In fact their agent came, not that person himself, or herself – I really don't know.

We're going to stay at that beach house the rest of our life, so if you ever somehow happen to read this, I'm just letting you know that that's where we are. Since we won't be living in this house anymore, I mean.

Mom agreed, too. The beach house is not large enough, and we barely managed to afford it. But money doesn't matter anymore; we'll all be happy together.

Dylan's gone for good, and I have to tell you that I'm relieved. I know I've hated Dylan all along, even if he was nice to me and I was unsure at times, (and now I know it because of the way he lied to me about you…I mean, just HOW much of a BOOR can someone be?)…but I've realized, thinking about all our memories, that he's never been the right one for me. It's you, and it's always been you all along. My search was over, and I'm not going to let it begin again by letting the rest of my flock search for you. Yes, they've mentioned it a couple of times.

If you really love me, you'll come back to me on your own.

It's been a month, Fang…and I don't really feel like right after you left…in fact, I feel _worse _if there's any way to describe it. Escaping from this house will make it less painful, will make life less painful, especially for me.

Every hour without you has felt like a weight, and every day without you has felt like a sandstorm in an hourglass. Interesting simile, I know…but I write poetry a lot nowadays. Depressing poetry, I mean.

So needless to say, this single month I've been without feels like a year, two years, ten years, a thousand years, a million years. Angel has only days left and she wants to see you one last time, I want our flock to be together one last time…the happy way we were before any of this happened. I really want that, Fang, and I think you coming back is the only way that could happen.

I don't know if you're really ever coming back but looking back on our memories was helpful. This was the only letter to you that made me feel better writing.

Good-bye, Fang. Hopefully we'll meet again.

Love,

Max.

**To those of you who were patient about the LAST chapter, well you're in luck...it's coming your wayy! :D aaaand...you know how you get that sad feeling when you're coming towards the end of a story? Well, I'm feelin' it...*sniffle*...okay I'll save the tears for the end. XD**

**Well anyways, I hope you liked it, please review review revieww! :D -Gale**


	11. To Max

**Oh, dear lord, so many things to say...first of all, this is the chapter you've all been waiting for...it took me a LONG time to write...I hope I didn't let you guys down too much! lol...Idk myself about this chappy...I guess it's _okay_...not my best, I don't think lol. Oh well...xD If you guys don't like it, I'll write another one!**

**Ahaha anyways, I have a couple of announcements you guys would probably want to read before you start the chapter...first of all, you guys break my heart(; aaw it made me so sad to see how sad you guys were at the announcement of the ending! so I've made a decision...if I get enough reviews to this chapter with good stuff and bad stuff and wacko stuff and whatever, I'll CONTINUE! :D please don't hesitate to constructively criticize when youu review! I'd love that(:**

**And FF is being stupid and not sending me emails, and I've NEVER mentioned this, soooo...if you favorite or alerted my story, or favorited or alerted me, THANK YOU SO MUCH! you can't imagine how much that means to mee.**

**And thanks also to my AMAZING reviewers! You guys are the BEST! I don't know what I'd do without you! You guys make me blush so much it's crazy...thanks to everyone who helped me with any of the chapters and if I forgot to mention you you KNOW it's YOU!**

**I'd like to thank the people who reviewed CONSTANTLY and helped me out SO much during the story (well, letters...), and that's TaKeMeToPaRiSs153, Blackice1234, and maia sky. They reviewed almost every chapter and I really, really appreciated it! Thanks also to my OTHER REVIEWERS...most of them helped me out a TON and I'll never forget you guys for that(:**

**Oh god...that was LONG. now, without further ado, here comes the chapter you've all been waiting for! I hope it doesn't disappoint you! :D**

Dear Max,

I'm not kidding, your letters brought tears to my eyes. To MY eyes. The "emotionless piece of charcoal". I don't know if you can believe that or not. And I don't know if you realized it, but every time you typed a letter, Nudge somehow found out and posted it on my blog…so…your personal letters to me are kind of all over the world now, just throwing that out there. Anyways.

I'm really truly very sorry that I left you, and you can imagine that how you felt was really the same way I felt, except for the heartbreak part.

In one way, I _did _have my heart broken – by _me_. That's right, I broke my own heart by leaving you. You cannot imagine what a hard choice that was for me, and how shattered I felt inside after a day. Nope, not even a day. I'd probably say the second I saw your house when I turned back…as I was flying away.

Your last letter filled my head with vivid images, especially the first few paragraphs. I thought it was pretty funny how you'd felt so jealous, and if you didn't know, I'd realized it then. I just hid my knowledge from you.

I'll start from your first letter. I just cannot express how sorry I am in words that I left you. I know I broke a very important promise and you'll never forget that. I just want you to know that I don't even have a voice in my head…it was just my silent, internal conscience that told me to do what I did.

I have to admit to you…I mean, I feel I should since you told me so much…that I burned up with anger every single time you said something kind towards that…freak, Dylan. And don't mind Angel, she _is _a creeper.

Speaking about Angel, I'm extremely sorry that her expiration date appeared, but I'm not. Don't gape, now, while you're reading this letter, just wait a second and let me explain, and it'll all make sense.

You see, my mission was to gather another flock and get an elixir from The School that would hold back and get rid of expiration dates. I now have the knowledge of how to create this concoction, and I have a nice big jar filled with it so when I come back to my beloved flock, Angel will be alive for a quite a while. Just tell her that she'd better not make me regret it.

Plus, I have this new flock. They're not going to stay with us, but they will be staying somewhere nearby. This new flock had helped me try to get the elixir, and I can't say we completely avoided danger while trying to get it. And yes…I did manage to run into your favorite – Brigid Dwyer. Needless to say, she was one of the whitecoats and she tried to kill me…but don't worry, I took care of her.

And about the problem of your house – it was _me _who rented it, so we still have it. I will not have my family cramped up in a beach house, no matter how pretty the view might be. I want us living in our home so don't start packing up just yet.

Oh Nudge, that sweet little thing, she's always been close to me and she was the one I was the most afraid of; I knew she'd come searching for me. I was afraid since your first letter that you would write that she's gone someday, and my fears came true, unfortunately. Thankfully, though, she was found or else I would've had a heart attack, or something similar.

Max, I'm anxious to see you and I really don't want you giving up hope on me because I _am _coming back, just like you thought, just like you hoped…before. In the beginning. I can see that the flock is falling apart and I just may be the right glue...and I'm not dried up yet. So please, Max, just wait a little bit longer. You can't imagine how hard it is to live without you. To wake up, and not see your face, to think about you and wonder if I'll ever see you again; these were the thoughts that pushed around in my mind as I was flying with my new flock to The School. Because it's not so easy accomplishing a mission that has to do with anyplace _near _the school.

I cannot wait to come back and look at your beautiful eyes and face, and your absolutely perfect hair, blonde and shiny. I only hope it's still that way and that my absence hasn't done anything too terrible to you. Oh Max…you cannot even imagine how much I've missed you on my journey. It was as hard for me to leave you as it's as hard for Iggy not to make dirty jokes. Okay, maybe harder.

I cannot believe I actually understand your feelings about Dylan and everything; I mean, he's such an annoyingly perfect guy, and I would understand if you kind of fell in love with him, just a little. Especially since I left you and everything. I am truly sorry about that, once again.

Since I'm just sitting here, waiting for my flock to come back after gathering food so we can eat, I guess I'll just tell you everything that's happened so far. Even if you don't read this, at least I'll have someone who wasn't with me on this journey to spill to. So now you know the objective of my leave, I'll just continue on with what happened after I'd left. After I flew off, away from our house, I started off towards Iowa, and once I got there, I met my flock. It was hard finding them; I had to search around a whole neighborhood until I found them living inside the clubhouse of one of the more rich neighborhoods.

It also took a while for them to become accustomed to me and my "weird" habits (like not saying a word most of the time) but I have to say, even without verbally saying much, I led them okay, I think. I felt like a Max II without the evilness and all that.

Anyways, my flock really only consists of four other people; Sounder, Treebark, Whips, and Rob. Sounder is only three years old, and he came from a long way off, I think. He's adorable and follows me around like a little puppy dog. One of the only words he knew when I met him was his name.

Treebark is seventeen, and can be extremely bossy. But he's still pretty cool to hang around and stuff…he saved me from boredom a _lot_. He's really, really tall; he clears my height, and he's about six and a half feet. That's about six inches taller than me. I don't like having to constantly stand on tiptoe and crane my neck to talk to him. Otherwise, he's fine.

Whips is the only girl in the new flock; she reminds me so much of Nudge, except for the fact that her skin is such a pale color, I thought she was a ghost when I first saw her. She constantly blabbers, on and on and on and on, and she's like a much worse Nudge than you'd think she is. MUCH worse. But she's sweet so it's fine, and I actually like hanging around her. She's around fourteen.

Rob is seven and a pain. Really, sometimes I wonder why I even ever collected him into my flock, but Rob is someone you just have to love regardless of how many stupid and dangerous things they do to put everyone's lives on stake. I'm not going to explain our many misadventures with Rob, but I'll tell you once I get back home. If you talk to me even. Which I hope you do.

Back to my story. So I found my flock and then I led them over to the school, and of course if they were going back there I had to remind them what the school was. Treebark thankfully remembered most of it, and we had to explain all that bad stuff to Whips and the younger kids. That would have been pretty painful for me, so naturally I let Treebark do most of the talking.

After they'd shuddered and even let out a few tears, we started heading out towards the School. The flight was unusually quiet, and I knew it would be uncomfortable from the beginning. The only person who really talked during our flight was, of course, Whips, who constantly complained about how it wasn't fair that we were going to the school. It took a long time to calm her down.

By the way, all of them were actually pretty well-trained in the fighting area. I didn't even have to teach them anything; they were already expert enough. All of them. But I have to say that you look more beautiful than any of them when you're fighting and concentrating really hard on your enemy. Just saying.

So we made our way into the school, fighting off any and every whitecoat we saw…except Jeb. Jeb was the one who led us into a lab room and told us all about the expiration dates. I have to say, he was actually pretty helpful in that way. Because of him, I now have our savior: the elixir that can save us all.

Anyways, Max, I see my flock now; they're all gathering back here with the food. I just want you to know that tonight I'm going to go back to your house so leave your window open because it's your face I want to see first before anybody else's. Please, Max, talk to me again when I arrive back at our house. The worst thing that could possibly happen is you ignoring me and shunning me. I know what a terrible thing I have done to you, Max, and even though I know I _had _to do it, it still makes me feel as guilty as ever.

I told you how much I love you in my last letter, and I'm not going to repeat all of that here but I hope you know that you weren't the only one who was feeling like everything was all wrong. But now that I feel right and that I have what I need, I know I'm going to come back to you and never leave you again. Dylan leaving just fixed up all of everything, and I will never break my promise to you again; I will never leave you again, and this time I'm giving you my absolute word. I will NEVER leave you like that again, even if it's with a note pouring out everything I've ever felt about you.

I know you need me, Max, but I need you too. I love you to heaven and back.

Fang

**Wow...did I do okay? :D please let me know through reviews (preferably) or PM if you can't review!**

**Thanks a ton! if I forgot to mention you in my long Author's Note, PLEASE let me know so I can add your user/name in! I hate missing people who've helped me because you guys are the best ever! -Gale**


	12. Losing Hope

**Oh my gosh you guys...YOU guys made me cry! literally! your reviews were just so amazing, and thank you soooo much!(: And I just wanted to say...I love all of you guys for reviewing...all your reviews were superb. Thanks soooooo much(:**

**And because so many people wanted it aaaaand so many people wanted it so...here's my final announcement...**

**I WILL CONTINUE THE STORY! :D**

**It will from now on be from Max's point of view, so without further ado, I'll start the beginning of the second part. :D  
P.S. there will be some Niggy. And if you guys want Eggy, I can make it complicated. Just review and let me know!**

Max felt like she had nothing else left in her. She thought that her last day in her old house would be filled with memories of fun times, and she thought that everyone would do something energizing. She was half right - indeed everyone left in the flock tried to make the best of the last day in their old house. But all Max could do was drag herself around and try to smile...she didn't even have that much energy or hope left in her.

"Max?" Nudge said softly, as she came into the room where Max was sitting dejectedly on the bed. "Did you pack all your stuff yet? We're leaving bright and early tomorrow morning, and it's already seven. You'd better start packing up."

Max only shook her head in fatigue. "I'll pack later, maybe I'll even wake up early tomorrow morning. But not now."

Nudge agreed, realizing that it was best she leave Max alone. "I'll be up later with dinner, okay?"

Max only nodded, and Nudge left and went downstairs. One last time she peeked through the doorway and asked, "Hey, Max? Should I call someone up? Do you want to talk to Iggy or Gazzy, or something? Angel's asleep right now."

"It's fine," Max smiled a ghost of a smile with the hugest effort. "Just...leave me be. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Okay. You should also go on the laptop of you're feeling lonely. I'm going now." With that, Nudge turned around, closed the door quietly, and walked down the hallway. Max could hear the muffled noise her socks were making on the hard, wooden floor. She looked at the laptop once, and turned away. Seeing no emails in her inbox and no extra word files in Fang's folder only made her more and more and more frustrated, so she just decided to stop checking everything. She decided to stop touching it at all. If Fang wanted to come back, he would just come back.

She stood up with great difficulty and lumbered to her door, casting one last look filled with temptation at the laptop. But she decided against it, sighed, and slowly started walking downstairs to join her family for the last dinner she'd ever have in her house.

!*&*!*&*!

The dinner table was filled with everything Max had ever dreamed of eating: potatoes, hot dogs, hamburgers, sausages and chicken on skewers, bread with butter, soda, juice, ice cream, brownies, cake, pudding, and soup. There was also a variety of snacks such as chips, licorice, and chocolate.

All the food managed to coax a grin out of Max, the most real amusement she'd had since Fang left.

"So? Let's get eating," Iggy said brightly. "I didn't cook all this for nothing!"

Nudge and Gazzy laughed. Max smiled again, and sat down, enough to make the rest of the flock calm themselves down considerably. She stuck a chicken kebob in her mouth, and her lips immediately formed into an O.

"Iggy?" she asked, wiping her mouth. "_Where _did you learn how to cook? It's delicious!"

"Why, thank you!" Iggy said, mocking surprise. "I wonder where that came from!"

Max rolled her eyes and shoved sausages in her mouth. She hadn't eaten for days, and decided that since this was her last dinner in her house, she'd have to spend the time fruitfully. Besides, she'd slowly die off if she didn't eat - but she _already _felt dead without Fang. The whole flock ate as much as they could - these luxuries weren't always available in their way of life.

"We asked Dr. Martinez to come and bring Ella with her," Angel told Max weakly. She was sitting right next to her, and could barely put the food in her mouth. She had to be supported in a sitting position with cushions and there were visible bags under her eyes. Max nearly fell apart when she looked at Angel; she could never imagine that something like what had happened would _ever _happen to her. Plus, she was the youngest so Max had always thought it would be the least likely.

"But," she continued, coughing, "they couldn't because Dr. Martinez had to go to the vet for an emergency, and Ella had a cheerleading competition. Dr. Martinez said that they'd meet us tomorrow at our beach house place."

Max only raised her eyebrows. Ella had never mentioned that she was a cheerleader. "All right, thanks for letting me know, Angel," she replied.

"Yeah."

"The food is amazing!" Nudge declared. "Wow, Iggy, I didn't know you made stuff _this _great! I mean, of course, you're food's _always _been good, but this is incredible! Like, five-star-restaurant HEAD CHEF status! If you keep cooking like this, you'll be on TV and stuff! I mean, we're all _already _on TV, but you're going to be famous as a cook if you keep cooking like this! I wish you'd cook like this every day because you have such incredible skills! I don't know what other people would say, but personally, I think you're amazing!" After a moment, Nudge blushed deeply. She looked down at her hands and said nothing else while Gazzy stifled a laugh and Angel smiled slightly, not looking surprised. Max's mouth dropped half open, in the middle of her fourth hamburger.

Iggy's face was bright red, and he suddenly looked at his glass of 7-Up in great interest. "I - I think I need more soda," he announced, and left for the kitchen.

"But Iggy, the 7-Up's on the table right here - " Gazzy started saying, but Max shushed him with a look.

"Soooo..." Angel said with a evil grin on her face. "Nudge...anything _new_?" Nudge glared at Angel, stood up, and stalked off to her room. Max heard her stood slam and she in turn looked at Angel disapprovingly.

"Was that really necessary?" she snapped.

"Sorry!" Angel slumped (the best that she could) back in her cushion-supported seat.

"Never mind. I'm going to bed." Suddenly, Max felt too tired to keep her eyes open. She excused herself, put her plates in the sink, and dragged herself to her room. With great effort, she pushed herself onto her bed and cried for the last time in her house. She cried thinking about many things: her life here, without Fang, and how Angel, as annoying as she was being, wasn't going to be there anymore after just a few days.

When she finally wiped away her tears and looked at the time - it was ten, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Max said in a weary voice.

Angel opened the door slightly and limped into the room, already in her pajamas. Max hurried over to help her sit on her bed. "Max, are you going to sleep with the rest of us downstairs, today?" she asked. Max took one look at her and remembered the Angel she had known and loved so much. The vulnerable little girl who depended on her and loved her as much as anyone possible could.

"No," Max said softly. "Angel, sweetie, I'm going to sleep in my room today - I'm having a hard time leaving it, you know?"

She nodded, and with a quiet "okay", she let Max help her downstairs and into her room. Before Max climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her, she looked once at the laptop, and decided that one last time wouldn't hurt. She'd just leave the laptop here for the new owners.

She flipped it open and checked the word files - nope, no new ones. She went to the internet and went to Fang's Blog - nothing new. He hadn't posted anything, and there would be no point checking what others had posted. The comment would probably be about how he wasn't updating.

At last, she logged into her email, expecting there to be nothing new.

But there was.

And it was from Fang.

Her eyes widening, hands shaking in anticipation, Max barely managed to move her cursor to the email and click on it, and then she started reading. With every paragraph her eyes widened an inch, and her mouth trembled in grief, joy, and fury at the same time. At the end of the letter, she scrolled back to the top and read the whole letter over and over and over and over again, until she heard a knock at the window and a familiar voice.

She already knew who it would be, but her heart and brain still hadn't registered the newest email in her inbox yet. So when she looked out the window, for the second time that night, her mouth automatically dropped open.

_Oh. My. God._

**Soooo? Well you guys know who it is, but please review and tell me how this one went! I'll update as soon as possible!(:  
THANKS AGAIN for the amazing reviews and favoriting/alerting my story or me!**

**I love you guys! Gale**


	13. Chasing What You Love

**Awh you guys! Thanks sooooo much for the amazing reviews and if you favorited/alerted mee or my storyy! Thank you guys soooo much(: And according to most people. Niggy wins. so without further adoooo, here's the next chap!**

"_Dylan_?" Max asked incredulously, and then remembered all the clouded-up anger against she was holding inside of her. "What the HELL are you doing here?" she hissed. "Why did you come back when I told you to SCRAM?"

"I know you want me, sweetie," Dylan purred maliciously, climbing into Max's room as she opened her window to talk to him. "I know you want me back. Trust me, when Fang never comes back, you'll be begging me to hold your hand."

"Get OUT! And the hell I won't!" Max said through clenched teeth. "He IS coming back! And stop calling me sweetie!"

"Oh, how do you know? Did he bother giving you a call and saying, 'Oh Maxi, I love you so much, I'm coming back for you! Just wait a bit!' Hah! As if." Dylan mimicked Fang's voice in a high-pitched, ear-shattering tone, which was uncharacteristic because he himself had a higher voice than Fang.

"No, but he sent me an email!" Max barely refrained from punching Dylan so hard in the face that he got a black eye. "And stop calling me Maxi! You call me that one more time and I'm going to - I'm going to - "

"You're going to _what_, Maxi?" Dylan said mockingly, and then softened. "Maxi, dear, you _know _you need me. Besides, how do you know it was _Fang _who sent the email? How do you know it wasn't someone _else_, someone who just _hacked _into his account?"

"I know," she growled, her voice becoming more and more dangerous. "Now I suggest you get out of here, before I tear you apart."

"All right, all right," Dylan held his hands up and spoke in a fake-defeated voice. "But before I leave you for good, I want to give you a little present."

"You leaving is enough _present _for me," Max muttered, but met Dylan's eyes. "Yeah? What present?"

"Just a little something to remember me by." He looked out the window, smiled just a little, and looked back at Max. His eyes were bright turquoise and lit up the whole room. Suddenly, Max forgot all her anger and stared back. His blonde hair blew slightly in the wind, and she noticed that it was streaked with dark brown.

He stepped forward, towards Max, and cupped her chin in his hand. Max didn't have time to refuse, because in less than a second his lips crashed down on hers. It wasn't a gentle kiss, more rough and passionate. Max was speechless, but to her it felt incredible - and _wrong_. She finally managed to get the strength to struggle against him, but he held her in place. Then Max noticed that there was someone else in the room, someone else who had soundlessly come in.

Someone with dark, dark hair, wearing black, with ebony-colored eyes and gorgeous black wings. Someone who she had longed to see for more than a month.

Fang.

"Max?" He asked, surprise and hurt in his tone, and Max punched Dylan in the stomach to pull away and get a look at Fang...and then she realized what Fang had just seen. Her heart stopped beating and she froze cold.

"No, no, it's not like that - " she started desperately. "No, Fang! I swear! It's not like that, it really isn't what it seems like - "

"I know it's my fault for leaving," he said quietly. "But I didn't know you'd find someone else." With that, he climbed out the window, unfurled his wings, and flew into the night with a sobbing Max screaming behind him.

"Fang! FANG! COME BACK!" she shouted, tearing streaming down her face. Her cries brought the whole flock, even Angel, up to her room. "What's going on?" Nudge asked, and then saw Dylan. "_Dylan_?"

"Why is everyone so freaking surprised to see me?" he snapped.

"It's Fang, he came, he saw...he left..." Max sobbed, falling to the ground, too weak to stand back up.

"FANG?" Nudge yelled. "He's BACK? But where did he go?" The rest of the flock just started at Max, not quite believing her.

Max managed to point out the window and continued crying hysterically. Gazzy came and sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around her protectively.

"I'm going to find him! WAIT HERE!" Nudge jumped onto the window sill, unfurled her wings, and flew off into the night, ignoring the calls of the rest of the flock. Minutes passed and Max was finally able to stand up. She smiled at Gazzy through her tears and said, "Sweetie, I don't know if Nudge is okay. I'd better go and fly."

"But you haven't had practice," Iggy warned her.

"It's all right, Iggy, I think I can," Max said confidently. She'd just started to climb up slowly onto the window sill when there was a shrill scream in the night.

It was Nudge.

"NUDGE!" Iggy shouted, looking out the window frantically. "You wait, Max, I'm going after her! I mean, them!" In a matter of seconds, he was a tiny speck in the night sky. Max looked around and saw Gazzy, Angel, and Dylan.

"Dylan! YOU'RE the cause of all this! Leave! NOW!" Max bellowed, and this time Dylan, with a scared look on his face, left Max's room and ran out the front door, slamming it shut behind him. Max watched him run into the night and looked at the remaining flock.

"What do you think happened to Nudge?" she asked, trembling uncontrollably. "Angel, can you read her mind?"

"I can't," she said sadly. "I lost connection right after she screamed.

"Do you have Iggy?"

"Yeah, let's see - Nudge, Nudge, Nudge, Nudge, Fang, Nudge, Nudge, I can't believe Fang is back, Holy shit what happened to Nudge - "

"Anything BUT Nudge and the occasional Fang?" Max asked exasperatedly.

"No, I'm afraid not." Angel paused. "Oh great, and now I've lost connection with _him_, too. This is just great."

Gazzy shook, and Max hugged him. "Don't worry, Gazzy," she murmured. "Everything is going to be okay. You just watch - we're going to get Fang back - " she bit her lip - "And Nudge, and Iggy, too. And then we can live all together again." Her voice cracked.

"I hope so," Gazzy said into her shirt, his voice muffled.

**Oh crap. when I actually started the chapter, I did _not _intend to make it end like this. XD**

**Aaaaand don't think I'm mean!(; well I AM being mean in this chappy, but if you guys know me and have read other stories, you know what a sap I am for happy endings, and I'm telling you now - EVERYTHING will end happy.(: So just keep reading when I update! Hee!**


	14. The World

**Okay! Here's the next chapter, and thanks SO MUCH for the amazingness of your epic reviews (does that make sense? Yes, it does.) aaaaand favoriting or alerting my story and mee! hehehehe :D so anyways. Without further ado. Next chapter.**

Max stood there helplessly, her arms around Gazzy, who was shaking. Angel was sitting dejectedly in a chair, with no more hope of getting any connection with anyone, when she suddenly waved her hands and gave a shout.

"MAX! I got Iggy! Let's see...he's got Nudge...she's unconscious...oh god..." Angel winced. "You probably don't even want to know what he thinks of the eraser..."

"Nudge is _unconscious_?" Max said frantically. "And did you say _erasers_?"

"Not era_sers_, era_ser_. There was only one hanging around. Iggy looked around, but there were no more," Angel explained. "I can't believe Fang just left, and didn't even try to help Nudge or anything when she got attacked! He couldn't have been _that _far away!"

Max just groaned.

"He's getting closer to home..." Angel was muttering. "Closer, closer..."

At that moment, Iggy burst through the window with Nudge in his arms. "Take her," he said, gasping for breath. "Take her and lie her down. She got hurt pretty bad. Just...I just saw one eraser, there were no other around. Just one. Please, bandage her before something else happens."

Max didn't need to be told twice. She dashed over to Iggy and took Nudge carefully. Placing her on the bed, she ordered Gazzy and Angel to bring her bandages, and soon she was at work on Nudge's injuries. She had bleeding scars all over her body, and Max teared up a third time that night. She splashed water on Nudge's face, who woke up from her dream and whimpered.

"You're going to be okay, you're going to be okay," Max said soothingly to Nudge, pushing her matted hair away from her face. "Don't leave me like Fang left me. _Don't leave me like Fang left me_," she enunciated, which made tears trail down her cheeks.

Through heavy breathing, Nudge managed a nod...she was okay. Max cried in relief, stood up, and turned to Iggy. "You're hurt! Sit down, I'm going to wrap up your arm. It's bleeding to heavily. Right now. GO," she ordered him harshly, when he wasn't obeying.

While Max was trying to palliate Iggy's pain, Angel was roaming - more like _limping_ - around the room restlessly. "You guys! I got Fang! Barely, but I'm getting some of his emotions! Oh wow, _he _doesn't feel too good right now..."

"He _shouldn't_," Max snapped, and then said more quietly: "At least, not completely. Where is he right now?"

"I don't know. Oh! Wait...he just thought the word 'cave'. Do you think..."

Max leaped up out of her chair, and finished Iggy's bandaging with a flurry. "We are so _stupid_!" she shrieked. "Of _course _he'd be at the cave he told me he'd meet me in twenty years! The cave where he first learned to fly with the hawks. I'm going, you guys, and alone." When Iggy started to stand up, she shook her head. "No, Iggy, you should stay. Nudge needs you," she said softly. He couldn't argue with that.

"Max, can I come, can I come?" Gazzy asked eagerly. "I really wanna see Fang again!"

"You will, honey," Max bend down to ruffle his hair. "I just think I should do this alone, but then I'll hopefully be able to bring him back..." Max bit her lip. "I hope. And then you can all see him again! Besides, he was going to come back anyway!"

"Stay safe, Max," Angel told her, giving her one of the big hugs that Max missed so much. "I will," she replied. "Go and sit down, Angel, you're going to weaken yourself more." Max thought about telling them about the elixir, but didn't. She wasn't completely sure that she'd find Fang.

"Will you be able to fly?" Iggy asked, his voice a near whisper from the strain.

"I will," Max smiled, and then smiled bigger, grinning wide and showing her straight white teeth in a long time. "In fact, it's what I've been _dying _to do for the last month. Stay safe, you guys, I love all of you." With that, she climbed up on the windowsill, losing her weakness, spread out her wings, and jumped into the sky.

The flight was not a long one, but it felt like minutes in heaven for Max. She spread her arms wide, and felt the air swish between her fingers as if she'd never flown before. She yelled in joy for the first time in weeks and somersaulted through the air over and over again. Her laughter rang out clear in the peaceful night sky.

Not a single eraser blocked her path, which just added to the intense happiness she was feeling. However, her happiness dropped just as she sighted the cave, and a new mixture of fright, joy, anticipation, anger, and guilt filled her from head to toe. She was going to see Fang for the first time in weeks. She had seen Fang a few minutes ago, but that didn't count - she had barely gotten a chance to look at him before he'd left her. For the second time in her life, even after promising that he'd never leave her again. Max thought that Fang totally deserved what she had written in her first letter to him.

She neared the cave, slowed down, and skidded to a halt on the edge of the cave. She peeked inside, her heart beating right through her chest, and saw him. He was sitting with his arms around his legs, and his head was buried in his arms. _No, Fang's not crying, _she told herself fervently. _He's not crying. He's NOT crying._

She was shell-shocked to watch him like that, the Fang she knew breaking down and releasing everything inside him. He was still silent, but she knew how he felt. He had probably never unleashed any tears in his life, other than when he was born. Even then she wondered if he had cried. He was sitting in front of a pile of wood. Flames were growing and shrinking on top of the chips.

Max slowly walked inside, and stood in front of him, waiting, until he lifted his head. A bomb of emotions went through his wet eyes, but disappeared, just like that. His hair was still perfect, even though it was messed up...Fang could look hot any way he wanted. His black clothes were rumpled and his cheeks stained with tears, but Max saw just the Fang she'd remembered. He had gotten even more handsome in six weeks.

"Why did you leave me?" she asked, her hands on her hips. Her voice wasn't too harsh, though - it was calm and deadly.

"Did I not explain all of it in my letter?" he groaned.

"Was there any reason to not explain why you left? Would it have hurt us?"

"Yes, yes it would have," he said warily. "You would have come after me, and you would have gotten hurt."

"Yeah? I would have gotten _hurt_?" she said furiously.

"No, no _no_!" Fang said, exasperated, his voice getting louder. It was one of the few time she'd heard him talk with so much emotion. "You would have done fine! But if you had come, Iggy would come with you! You wouldn't let the flock come, but that's only Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel left, so what would _they _do at home? Would your mother be able to handle four children, including _Angel_?"

A silence followed this. Max finally took a deep breath, and her voice came out croaky. "You know I would have," she admitted. "But if I'd done the same thing, I'd have told you and everyone else without a doubt. Maybe not even everyone else, but _you_."

Fang was silent, and Max knelt down to look him eye-to-eye; he was still sitting with his back against the cave. Finally, Fang nodded. "I know. You don't know how hard it was for me to leave you, and not tell you where I was going. It was harder than stopping _smoking_, at least I _think_, and you know how I feel about you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Max. But I guess you have someone else now." Hurt passed through his eyes, and Max felt like squeezing him tight.

"Ugh! You misunderstood it, Fang! That stupid 'perfect other half' came by and mashed his disgusting lips on mine. Before, he even checked to make sure you were watching, and I was too stupid to realize! I hate, him, Fang, I _hate _him! He lied to me about you, and that's something I will never forgive!" She guessed Fang could see the fierceness in her eyes, because he stood up and looked at her in wonder. Max stood up too, so he wouldn't watch her melt under his glance.

"So you're single?" his voice was hopeful.

"Not for long," she said, and smiled. Her smile disappeared in seconds. "But if you weren't such a douchebag, I never would have _become _single."

In swift movements, Fang had her pinned up against the wall, one hand gluing her hand to the wall, and one hand lingering dangerously close to her throat. "Do _not _call me a douchebag. At least I left for something worthwhile," he hissed. Max could see the flickering fire reflected in his impossibly dark eyes.

"All right, fine," She told him, breathing rapidly. His face was inches from hers, and she could feel his heat warming her body. "You're not one."

He loosened his grip, and let me go. Max moved closer to him, and he wrapped her in his arms, the arms she had missed for so long. "I just thought..." he hesitated.

"You thought what?" Max asked, looking up at him. "That Max doesn't need you because she's better off without you? That the world is more important than Max?"

"You _are _my world," he whispered, and his lips were on hers. She kissed him back, throwing her arms around his neck, and the movement was so quick that he stumbled and fell, her on top of him. Max didn't even think of letting him up; she only laughed and put her mouth on his again. "I love you," she murmured. She felt him smile against her lips.

**SO? How was that? I LOVE MUSHY ENDINGS! :D (btw it's not the end of the story yet...I haven't forgotten about Niggy! I also need to end it with all that stuff about what happens next...but in the meantime please REVIEW and let me know how I did!) Thanks for reading**!

**xoxo**


	15. Pairs and Pairs

**Okay, you guys, I am SO sorry for the lateness of this chapter. ugh my parents have been being hella...not cool with me and stuff so I've barely even gotten a chance to touch the computer):. Oh well...next chapter coming right up!**

**OH WAIT! and before I start, I have to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for the reviews and stuff and the private messaging aaaand for favoriting/alerting my story or mee (Idk who did cuz FF doesn't send me half the emails...x_x) but whoever you are, you know who you are, and THANKS! :D**

Max sat at the edge of the cave for a long time, watching the stars in the dark sky. She leaned her head on Fang's shoulder, and he took her hands in both of his. Sometimes she would stop staring at the sky and sneak a look at Fang, who was continuously searching for constellations. She looked at his gorgeous face and realized how safe she felt with him just there, sitting next to her. His black hair hung down and covered one eye, and Max reached out and brushed it back. He looked at her and smiled and Max tried her hardest not to shiver in delight.

"Have I changed?" Max suddenly asked, out of the blue. Fang looked at her again with a questioning look, which turned mischievous in seconds.

"Yes," he answered. "You're not so much of a teeth-banger anymore." Max could tell that he was barely able to suppress an evil grin.

"What?" Max said, flustered. "What do you mean? Oh yeah..._I _remember. You wrote that crap about me on one of those unposted blogs. If you'd published that, I would have killed you. Not that I still shouldn't still kill you for leaving me. And besides, you know why I'm such a good kisser now? I had _practice_."

She had to cover her mouth with her hand to refrain from laughing at Fang's one-second expression. A scowl with a mixture of fury and jealousy - it was priceless. "With who?" he asked gruffly, even though Max knew he knew the answer.

"_Dylan_," Max swooned. She decided to push her limits. "He's _such _a good kisser. I mean, his lips are - "

"That's great, Max, that's great," Fang said, not able to completely conceal his envy towards Dylan. Max still figured he was much more under control than she would have been if he'd kissed a girl over four times while he was gone. She'd nearly ripped her hair out at a small one he'd had months before with a redhead named Lissa.

"But you're better," Max said, and Fang smiled one of his genuine, full smiles that Max almost never saw form on his face. She cherished the expression and realized that it was something she'd never forget until she was dead. Even _after _she was dead she wouldn't forget.

"I know," he smirked, and Max punched his arm.

"Way to be modest, smartass," she laughed. He just smiled at the sky again and made her heart beat increase to twice its speed.

"We should go," he said at last, getting up and helping Max to her feet. "Everyone probably thinks you're dead by now."

"No, I'm a great leader," Max said confidently. "I'll die when pigs fly."

"Dogs already fly. Who knows when pigs will sprout wings."

"Oh. So you _want _me to die?" Max asked indignantly. For the first time in her life, she saw Fang grin, a full-on teeth-exposing smile. His teeth were shiny, white, and perfect. Fang was smiling a lot today, not that Max could blame him. Not that Max disliked it at all. He pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. She wrapped her arms around his perfect body and lay her head against his chest. She felt his heart beating and smelled the minty woodsmoke smell that usually came out of him.

"So let's go," she said, pulling back. She took his hand and lugged him over to the edge of the cave. They stretched their wings, jumped up, and flew into the night sky, the wind rushing around them. Max realized how much she'd missed the amazing sight of his gorgeous black wings, and she guessed Fang missed hers, since he was constantly looking down at her.

When they reached Max's front yard, they both slowed down and dropped to the ground, landing gracefully on their feet. Fang, who was a few feet away from Max, jogged over to her and Max grabbed his hand. They walked to the front door, which was unlocked, and opened it quietly. Max motioned to Fang, and he followed her up the stairs where Angel and Gazzy were waiting. "FANG!" they both screamed, and dashed over to throw their arms around him. He readily hugged them back and apologized sincerely for leaving them while they shed tears of joy over his arrival.

"Where are Nudge and Iggy?" Fang asked as Angel and Gazzy calmed down and returned to their normal composure.

"You'd better not go into Max's room. I think it's a sight you wouldn't love to see."

Max gave her a confused look and tiptoed to her room. She peeked through the slight opening and saw Iggy and Nudge...making out. On her bed.

"Let the love birds have their time." Fang had come and stood next to her, witnessing the same scene. She stepped back and they went back over to the rest of the flock.

A small smile lit Max's face, while Gazzy groaned. "Great. Now the whole flock is pairing up. Next you guys will tell me to make _Angel _my girlfriend. Promise you won't? You do know that she's my sister, right?" Max and Fang gave each other a humored look.

"Good thing Ella isn't here to see this," Angel said grimly. Fang raised an eyebrow. "You'd better not tell either of them, or I'll kill you," Angel warned.

"But you didn't warn ME!" Gazzy yelled, and ran down the stairs. Angel rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Boys. They're so - "

"Awesome!" Gazzy called from downstairs.

"Sweet," Max sighed, looking at Fang.

"Sexy," Fang said, leaning against a wall, giving Max a seductive look.

"_Fang_!" Max and Angel said at the same time, biting back a laugh.

**Sorry that was short...but GUESS WHAT! GUESS! YOU GUESSED IT! WINTER BREAK FROM TODAY! YAY! :D So I can write the end of this without giving it two weeks' break! (Again, sorry for not updating sooner...D:) bahahah. Oh well. Reviews please! -Gale**


	16. Which Elixir?

**HI GUYS! To be honest, I have NO CLUE how this chapter's going to turn out.**

**So my unhappiness/anger/evilness may contribute to this chapter, even though I have absolutely no clue what I'm going to write about. I never do, unless there's a major cliffhanger or something right there. So. Let's see...here how about I just start writing? We'll see how the chapter turns out at the end. XD**

"FANG!" Nudge screamed, bursting out of Max's room. Her face was read and her hair was matted and she was limping, but she did whatever she could to make her way over to Fang and hug him tightly. "You're BACK!"

"Fang!" Iggy called. He walked over to him and they embraced, slapping each others' backs. "What in the world made you come back?"

"All of you," Fang said abruptly, but gave the flock a half-smile. Nudge was still in Fang's arms, and crying in joy. "Why did you leave?" she sniffled. "You were stupid to think that we'd be _better off _without you."

"Yes, yes I was very stupid," Fang soothed Nudge. "And speaking of leaving, I have a little something for Angel. And the rest of us."

"What?" Angel's eyes held a little hope, the most Max had seen in days.

"I have the elixir that will get rid of your expiration date and let you live a normal-span human life."

Every mouth in the flock, other than Fang's and Max's, dropped open. "So you HAVE it?" Nudge cried. "That's so awesome! Get it out and give it to Angel right now! Are you sure it's going to work? It had better work, or else I think I'm going to go right back to the school and - "

Iggy slapped a hand over Nudge's mouth. "That's enough," he said softly, but gave her an intense look. Max saw Nudge melt, and she connected it to how she reacted to Fang's very intense looked._ Worse_, she told herself.

"How do you know it's going to work?" Angel repeated Nudge's question.

"It _should_. My other flock tested it on Whips - her expiration date had appeared - and it worked."

"How does it _work_? What does it look like?" Gazzy asked in wonder.

"Well," Fang said, running a hand through his hair, "You just give it to the person to drink and in thirty seconds, it's gone."

"Seriously?" Iggy gasped. "That's awesome! How come we didn't know about this before? And how did _you _know about it, anyway?"

"I have my reasons," Fang sighed, giving Max a look that said, _We'll talk later_.

"Give it to Angel, then, already! Do you have it?" Nudge yelled, bouncing up and down on her heels. "I can't wait to see the way it works! It's probably going to make Angel feel as good as new! Like...like an angel! Haha!"

"I have it," Fang said, reaching into one of his pockets. He took out a vial that had bubbling blue liquid inside. She watched him squint and read the label, and she saw his eyes widen in shock and horror before his face became closed off again.

"What is it?" Max asked, the only one who had caught his one-second spill of emotion.

"I brought the wrong vial."

**Gahh CLIFFY! heheheh I'm so evil(:{ ~Gale**


	17. A Sudden Surge

**Okay I'm just going to re-upload this! Because last time, remember the Fang letter? I'd uploaded it a day earlier than you guys got the email, but unfortunately, it doesn't tell you guys when I replace...so...I'm just going to delete this chapter and re-upload it, kay?**

**By the way, Merry Christmas Eve! :D Now on w/the story...:D**

Every single jaw in the flock dropped open. Even Angel, who was supposed to be omniscient, obviously had no idea about the mistake. The only one who looked calm was Fang, but even he wasn't able to fully hide his shock or anger at himself. In a few swift movements, he was inside Max's room and on top of the windowsill.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, maybe an hour or two," he informed the group. "Stay safe. Close the window after I'm gone."

Max, suddenly feeling bold, stomped over to Fang and tugged on his shirt. He gasped and stumbled, tripping over his black Vans. "You get back here," Max snapped. "If you're going, I'm coming with you. There's no way in Hell I would ever let you go again. NO WAY."

Fang knew he couldn't argue; Max was too strong for a stupid argument. "Okay," he sighed, giving in. "Fine. You can come. But Iggy has to stay and take care of Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge. They can't go."

"Fang, where is the vial, anyway?" Angel asked.

"It's with my other flock. They're in the next town over, living in a small house I found that was abandoned."

"You have a flock? Where did they get the money to survive? Can I meet them? Please please please please _please_?" Nudge inquired.

"Maybe. And me," Fang shrugged. "And Treebark got a job."

"So if you're going to go see your flock, why don't you let the rest of us come along?" Max questioned him sternly. "Are you hiding something?"

"No, _no_," Fang assured her. "I'm not."

"Then can we see them? Pleeeaaaaase?" Nudge begged him, almost falling to his feet.

"Yeah! I wanna see if any of them like making bombs!" Gazzy cried, and Iggy seconded him. "Besides, I don't want to be left behind taking care of these pests!" he smirked, pinching his nose. Angel gave him a glare, making him laugh.

"There could be erasers," Fang warned her. "Didn't Iggy..._see _one?"

"Well, I didn't _see _it, literally, but I heard Nudge. And I didn't sense any more because I can usually tell if they're there."

For the second time, Fang put his hands up in defeat. "We're all going."

"YES," the flock cheered, and momentarily, the whole elixir problem was completely forgotten.

"Wait...is Angel even strong enough to fly?" Max asked worriedly.

"I'll carry her," Fang offered, and Angel wrapped him in a hug. This obviously surprised Fang, but he put his arms around her anyway. "It's not very far," he responded to Max's wide-eyed stare. "It's only about ten miles away."

"Yay! We can fly together as a flock again! This is exciting!" Nudge yelled. Gazzy whooped and Iggy ruffled his hair and smiled at Nudge.

So for the first time in a long time, the flock assembled and departed, soaring through the air together. Fang took his usual position in the front with Max, while Gazzy flew in the middle, Nudge and Iggy taking up the back. Max had no intention to check behind her to see what was going on.

The six bird kids flew through a cloudless sky, over various terrains. Trees, bushes, and cement rushes past as they made their way through the air towards the next town. Soon, a Denver City Limit sign showed up, and Fang announced that they were close to their destination. After five minutes of searching, Fang finally found the building he'd been looking for. It was a short, white-washed house, with one floor and a chimney jutting out of the top. Voices could be heard from many feet away, and it was no wonder that the flock was a loud one.

"We're here," Fang said, landing on the grass in the front yard with Angel in his arms. The faded numbers above the mahogany door read "1501", and Max scrutinized the home before joining the rest of her flock at the door.

The door was opened almost the second that the doorbell was rung. A tall, muscular late-teenager opened the door, carrying a mug of coffee in his hand. "Oh, hi, Fang," he said, breaking into a grin. "How good to see you! Is this your flock? Who's Max? Isn't she the hot one?"

Max blushed. "_You'd _find her hot," Iggy snorted.

"And you are?" he asked.

"I'm Iggy. This is Nudge, and Gazzy, and Angel, and our queen Max," Iggy replied, pointing to each individual as he said their name. "You already know Fang. And...you are?"

"I'm Treebark." By then, three more younger kids had gathered around him, peeking curiously through the side of the door. "This is Whips, and Rob, and there's Sounder, looking through the window. Are you guys here for something?"

"Yeah," Fang told them. "You have our elixir. Did all of you already finish taking a sip out of it?"

"We did," Treebark confirmed. "And you're saying we have it?"

"You do, don't you?" Fang said, almost anxiously.

"Let me go check," he said smoothly, and walked inside. Meanwhile, the other three ran out to hug Fang one-by-one and introduce themselves. Max watched Nudge talking to Whips, and from the sight of it, it looked as if both of them were having a powerful conversation. Too powerful. Sounder had found Gazzy and Angel, and was trying to tell them something in his minimal amount of English. Iggy was talking to Rob about...explosives.

A few minutes later, Treebark called to Rob from the doorway, and Rob walked over to talk to him. A quiet conversation took place, and at the end, Rob walked up to Max with a small smile of sympathy.

"Hey. Max, right? Treebark couldn't find the elixir. We're very sorry."

Max froze. Her heart stopped beating. "What?" she asked weakly. "You couldn't...find...the bottle?"

"No. We looked everywhere. We're really very sorry, Max."

By then, the whole flock had stopped talking and were staring at Rob incredulously. They couldn't get a single word out of their mouth; they were frozen stiff. Fang was the first one who spoke in a quiet voice. "I guess we have to go back, then."

"No!" Max shouted. An energy had suddenly buried itself inside her. She stood up taller, straighter, and glared at each and every person standing before her. "I will _not _let Angel die a tragic death. We WILL find the elixir. Everybody has to go inside and search until they find it. It HAS to be here, now go. NOW."

Surprised and fueled by some optimism, the nine others rushed into the house and started digging around.

**Okay. that was sort of an abrupt end, but I have to go to a Christmas party right now, soooo. XD And don't worry, you'll have the rest of your present tomorrow! I won't be too evil on you(: Just to be nice. XD Gale**


	18. Extraordinary Feelings

**MERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS! And thanks sooo much for reviewing, alerting, favoriting, etc.!**

Max burst in through the door, full of energy and confidence. She carefully scrutinized the neat room: every nook, every cranny until she was sure that every bug had disintegrated under her glare. She ran into every room and took every bed apart and fluffed every pillow until feathers were scattered all over the room.

She asked every single person in her way whether they had found the vial or not, and every single time they answered, she exploded.

"Have you found it yet, Treebark?" Max asked the tall boy as she met him walking down the hallway.

"No. Max, listen...I don't think we'll find it. It's not in our house."

"Bullshit," Max snapped. "I'm going to tear this house apart until I find it because IT IS IN HERE."

She went into the kitchen and took the pantry apart and inspected every packaged food until she was sure that there was no vial inside any. She pulled at the hair in frustration and yelled out frantically when she'd finished searching every room, and finally broke down in the middle of the hallway.

Max, who had once been so strong and such a good leader, lost all her hope and her optimism and her courage. She fell to her knees and sobbed.

She cried about Angel, who she used to be a daughter to her. It was true that recently she and Angel had grown apart - _very _apart, but she still loved her like her own family and would do anything to save her life. She cried about failing to find the vial, because since she had failed to find it, she felt like a failure of a leader. She cried about crying, because she knew that everyone would see her cry and know that she had only weakness inside her. She cried for the rest of her flock because the happiness she had felt once was gone; her flock would now never be able to be saved from their appearing expiration dates. If Angel went first, then there was no telling which flock member would be going next.

"Max?" she felt a tap on her shoulder. Sniffling, she turned around and saw Sounder, with his light brown hair arranged messily on his head. His stance and his overall appearance reminded Max of when Angel was a toddler, and the sight made more tears well up in her eyes.

"Max," he said again. His _voice _also reminded Max of Angel's.

"Not now, Sounder," she said quietly, hiding her face. "Go to everyone else, and tell them I'll be out in a couple minutes."

"But Max - " he started.

"Please?" Max pleaded softly, and even Sounder couldn't mistake the desperation in her voice.

"Okay," he said reluctantly, and ambled down the hallway to the front door. Max let her tears free, and felt like a fool all over again. She knew she should be staying with Angel and comforting her during her last few hours, but she couldn't even find the strength to get up.

A few moments later, strong hands helped her up and wrapped themselves around her. Max buried her head in Fang's chest and blinked away her tears heavily, not wanting to appear even weaker than she was.

"Fang?" she mumbled into his shirt. "How long until Angel goes?" She already felt much calmer in Fang's arms. She trusted him. If he was calm, then she should be calm, too. Not that there was ever a time he _wasn't _calm.

"Many years," he replied.

Max untangled herself from him, but he took her arms and pulled her closer. "_What_?" she asked. "Her expiration date...it says today..."

"I know," he said. "You don't listen to people younger than you, so I had to come here to tell you." He smirked just a little, but his eyes were soft.

"Tell me what? And Fang, you and I both know you're younger than me."

"Just by a couple months. And the flock had the elixir all along. Sounder was playing with it and he came to tell you."

"And...I didn't listen. Dear lord."

"No. No, you didn't."

Max sighed and played with Fang's shirt, twisting it around her finger over and over again. "Well, I was stupid...let's go. Do you know where Sounder is?"

"He should be right outside. He just went out there to tell me where you were."

He reached out and steadied her. Max grabbed his hand and half-dragged him to the front door, threw it open, and ran as fast as she could to Sounder. "Do you have it, honey? I'm so, so sorry I didn't listen to you...I had no idea you'd have it! Where did you find it?" she asked, all in one breath.

"Sounder had it from the start. He was playing with it, and went to tell Max," he said in his adorable voice.

"Okay," she replied, giving him a hug. He placed a small glass vial in her hand, and she took in the brightness of the red liquid within. It looked strangely like poison, but she doubted Fang or a three-year-old would try to kill off her flock by making everyone drink poison.

"Angel," she called, walking over to Angel. "You should definitely be the one to drink it first." She lifted the vial to Angel's mouth, and tipped it over. Angel took a sip of the contents and shuddered. "Max, this is gross," she whined. "It tastes like cough medicine."

Only thirty seconds had passed, but Max could already see changes in Angel. Her wrinkled skin had become smooth and flawless as usual, the bags under her eyes had disappeared, and she was standing up on her own, strong and independent. "I feel new again," she shouted, and jumped up and down in glee. Her hair, tied up in a high ponytail, revealed the unmarked skin at the back of her neck. The expiration date had gone.

Every single person who was standing outside in that yard at that moment gave a yell of victory. One by one, everyone in Max's flock, including Max, fed themselves the elixir and felt their bodies overflow in strength and spirit. (Except Fang, who had already taken the elixir.) (That side note sort of ruined the moment, didn't it.)

The empty vial was thrown into the drain next to the house, its shattered remains melting away into the ground.

**Kay btw you guys, that wasn't supposed to be the last chapter. LOL. :P I got a lot of confused reviewers...lmao don't worry that wasn't the last XD Haha I guess it was okay...thanks anyways(; xoxo Gale**


	19. A Sense of Belonging

**Oh my gosh. Okay. So I have to thank you thank you thank you to EVERYONE who helped, and that's you, my fabulous reviewers and messagers! And to Raptor: Aaw thanks so much(: and your ideas are fab and I'm going to use them. I also want to _specially _thank TaKeMeToPaRiSs153...she messaged me almost the second I published the note, and totally helped me. The beach thing is her idea, so.(: I'm going to use the ideas you guys gave me and combine them and make a chapter!**

**Alrite. So this is just a short ending. I'm going to wrap up the story in this chapter right here, so please review after you're done! I hope this one turns out good and gives a lasting effect. I think. LOL. But I'll definitely miss writing this.):**

**I have the best readers ever! *sniffle***

Less than a day after the flock's expiration dates disappeared, everything went back to normal. Max's flock headed back to the house, and Ella and Mom joined them with a lot of celebration. There were no erasers and no Whitecoats and nothing to worry about, and for once in her life, when her voice came back to tell her that she still had to save the world before it's too late, she told it to go screw itself.

Max could be very pleasant sometimes.

After they left, the flock proceeded to go to the small house on the beach (Max had rented it for a week) and stay there, just for vacational purposes. Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge ran around in the water, shouting with glee, and Iggy found a hundred girls a day to talk to. Max and Fang sometimes entertained the younger kids, but sometimes they'd just sit on their towels, hold each others' hands, and talk. Sometimes they'd just look at each other and sometimes they'd kiss.

A week passed by much too fast, and the flock had to head home. Max was happy, though, she was content, and she felt like everything had gone back to the way it had been before, except even better because no one would have to die ahead of time. Angel still eavesdropped on conversations between her and her voice, and she still had a habit of reading everyone's thoughts. Gazzy and Iggy still made their incredible explosives...the first time Dylan showed up at the door, they threw an apple at him that burst into flames and had him running with fright (and screaming like a girl). Nudge still talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and didn't stop talking and made peoples' head spin with her nonstop babble - but Max didn't mind. She liked the way everyone had their own personality and didn't change after so many incidents.

Max sought out Nudge and properly thanked her for posting all her letters on Fang's blog. Although it was a little embarrassing that millions of fans had read her letters and probably laughed at what a drama queen she was, if it wasn't for Nudge, Fang would not have come back. Or maybe he would have...Max wasn't sure.

She sat in her room alone sometimes, thinking about what had happened when Fang had left. She thought about how he had almost no idea about how she was feeling. It was true that Fang probably felt the same way about leaving, but she couldn't get herself to trust in him enough to be sure that he'd never leave her again.

"Fang?" she asked him one night, when she was lying in his bed. Her head was in his lap and she was staring at the ceiling, while he was lounged against the headboard. "Are you really going to never leave me again?"

"Do you not trust me?" he replied, looking down at her, and Max could see the hurt in his eyes.

"Well..." Max didn't want to make him feel bad, but she had to bring up the point. "You said you wouldn't leave me a while ago...and you did. I don't know, Fang, if I can't trust you, I don't know if we should be together." _Stupid Max! _she chided herself. _Don't BREAK UP with him!_

"You're breaking up with me?" Fang said in surprise, and the slight one-second look of agony that passed through his eyes were unbearable. Max opened her mouth and found herself pouring her heart out to him.

"Well, ever since we started going out, I thought you were the perfect boyfriend. And you are, I mean - even though you left and stuff. You're gorgeous and irresistible, but I couldn't believe it when you didn't even tell me where you were going, even when you promised you'd always stay with me before. I really thought you were being serious but I guess you weren't. You broke my heart, and I seriously considered you my ex after you'd gone. Please, just promise me, for real this time, that if you ever go you're going to take me with you because yes, the flock needs a leader, but it needs a _good _leader. Not a crappy one who won't eat, drink or sleep because her only love just got up and left, with a beautiful love note not even explaining where he was going." She took a deep breath.

Fang looked up at the ceiling and said nothing for a few minutes. Then he said in a wary voice, "I can't promise, Max, that I'll never leave again. I don't know what's going to come up in my life later that I can assure you I'll stay with you all the time and every day. But I will promise you that I'll always stay with you when I can and you can come along next time I have to go somewhere."

Just the fact that he hadn't told her he'd never leave her, surprisingly, made Max feel happier. She wasn't happier because he might have to leave for something, but she was happier because she knew he was telling the truth. He was gaining back her trust.

"Thank you," she whispered, sat up, and hugged Fang. "I love you so much."

"I'm so sorry, Max. I don't know what I'd do without you," he mumbled into her hair.

Max pulled back, and soon her lips were on his. The kiss started out slow, but it turned passionate and deep after a few moments. She inched onto Fang's lap, and he snaked his arms around her and held her. She grasped his shirt and wrapped her arms around his neck and moved her fingers through his hair. A warm feeling welled up inside her and she smiled as they finally broke apart, gasping for air. Max lay her head on Fang's chest for a long time, listening to his heart beat and feeling safe and loved.

He was hers and she was his, and that was that.

**Okay, that's the ending! How was it? Please review and let me know! (I know it sounds sad, but this would be your last review so I'd love it if you did!) I guess it would ruin the feeling but CHEESINESS FTW! Oh yes. XD Sorry if the characters were a little bit OOC, I'm not sure if they were, but if they _were _sorry about it. I have a hard time keeping them in-character during love scenes. LOL.**

**I just have to say, I had a LOT of fun writing this story. I want to fervently thank ALL my reviewers, especially my reviewers that always reviewed after every single chapter, my reviewers who gave me confidence for this chapter.**

**I want to thank every single person here who favorited or alerted me or my story, and I have to say that I love all you guys. I've written stories for a lot of books actually (some of them I deleted so you can't see them anymore(:{), but I have to say...Maximum Ride? By far the absolute best reviews I've gotten.**

**Other stories? I finished it a long time ago, but Timeless is a story I'm proud of, it's for The Hunger Games but only read if you're a Gale fan :P I mean I don't have Galeniss in there, it's just post-Mockingjay and stuff. Don't worry, it's still Peeniss (don't you love my mash-up names?) yepyep but don't worry, I don't dislike Peeta ...in fact, I think he's quite awesome. But Gale is MINE.**

**Then I have my ongoing story (I update not very frequently xD) Voldemort's Birthday Bash and that's my guaranteed hilarious story that will make you laugh. I hope lol. But if you're a Harry Potter freak, definitely check that out!(:**

**Well, now that I'm done with boring advertising! :P Anyways, I want to thank you guys again!**

**xoxo, Gale.**


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